History

Before establishment of NZAL (4 Nov, 2013), leadership and governance of New Zealand businesses was at odds with the way New Zealand wanted to do business with Asia.

The leadership and governance structures in New Zealand companies did not always reflect New Zealand’s commitment to doing business with Asia. There was a noticeable lack of Asians in top leadership positions in New Zealand companies. Some New Zealand companies were also finding it difficult to identify and recruit Asian leaders to Boards and senior management. It was in New Zealand’s economic, as well as social equity, interests to fill this gap and support Asians into key leadership positions where they are the right person for the job.

Having identified this gap, New Zealand Asian Leaders (NZAL) was established to provide a place for Asian New Zealanders who leaders in their fields to enjoy peer to peer support and have visibility with New Zealand companies doing or wanting to business with Asia.

The role of NZAL is to build confidence in Asian New Zealand leaders to offer their expertise and to help them understand they have important expertise to add value to NZ Inc.